I Shot You First!

In case you missed David Aldridge's infamous GDC performance, we just uploaded all the slides and we're ready to show them off in all their epic glory. There's even a few extra sections Aldridge didn't have the time to delve into included for good measure. Be fair warned, though. The full file is more than 500 megabytes large. If you're conserving bandwidth, try the tiny file on for size first and see how it suits you.

"Gameplay networking is easy once you have a socket open!" Find out all the things that are wrong with that statement in this gripping tale of the perilous minefield that lies between sockets and game code. This talk describes in detail the patterns and processes that have allowed Bungie to repeatedly set new standards for gameplay networking quality. Come see how we develop competitive game mechanics that are fun over the Internet, learn what kinds of network introspection tools you need to build into your next online game, and marvel at the low-tech way we measure lag."

If you're ready to get your Monday morning learn on, Joe and Tam are ready to do some certified teachifying. The dynamic duo combined powers to deliver a super-sized talk at GDC, and as a result their presentation deck is no small download, clocking in at 444MB. If you have the bandwidth, and the desire to learn about how Joe and Tam helped make Halo: Reach's character performances all kinds of awesome, click the link below and get to downloading.

"With the goal in mind to improve the character performances in Halo: Reach we discuss the challenges we overcame and the concessions we made to ship on time and on budget with better quality. Bungie developed many new solutions with both process and technology to solve animation problems we had in the past. This lecture outlines the most prominent issues and provides highlights of our approach."

Senior Programmer Mat Noguchi speaks out on life, love, and ten years of working with tools at Bungie. In this talk, produced for Gamesauce
in 2010, Noguchi covers one of Bungie’s critical engine components – the tag system. He also swears. A lot.

Eventually, we'll house the high res take on Sharp's talk, but if you need some leadership advice like now, hit the jump to tune in. If you're looking for Reach details, or even pretty screenshots, this isn't your cup of tea. This one's all about learning.

Bungie's resident Gameplay Guru, Jaime Griesemer, analyzes a seemingly insignificant data point, explores it in exhaustive detail, and explains precisely how and why you should follow in his contrails if you're willing to make the hard choices and want to develop your own supernatural sense of balance.